The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky, together with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the University of Louisville School of Medicine invites you to attend its Heroin and Opioid Response Summit on Thursday, December 1 in Louisville. The Summit will bring together stakeholders and professionals working in treatment, recovery, health care, law enforcement, emergency response, prevention and education to discuss current efforts and strategies with a specific focus on Louisville, Kentucky. Attendees can explore ideas for more effective responses to this crisis.

On Wednesday, September 21, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced Louisville as the fourth city in America to take part in a comprehensive
law enforcement and prevention “360 Degree Strategy” to assist cities dealing with the heroin and prescription drug abuse epidemic. As part of this
strategy and in conjunction the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky, the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks you are cordially invited to attend a DEA 360 Strategy Drug Prevention “Train-the-Trainer” briefing held at one of two locations
on November 1 and 2.

The training, designed by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, is intended to:

Teach those in your organization and other stakeholders in the community how to conduct a drug prevention presentation
Provide instruction on how to train others within your agency or organization to give a drug prevention presentation
Provide a Powerpoint slide...

A report yesterday from the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy underscores the dangers of fentanyl, an extremely potent opioid that is leading to more
overdose deaths, often because dealers mix it with heroin and sell the lethal blend to unwitting addicts.

Fentanyl-related deaths have been on the rise across the country over the past year, and experts say many addicts are not aware they are consuming the
drug. It is 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin and can prove deadly at very low levels, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

In Kentucky, fentanyl was a factor in 420 fatal overdoses in 2015, up from 121 in the previous year. The drug contributed to 34 percent of all overdose
deaths in the state, frequently in combination with heroin or other drugs.

Overall, fatal overdoses totaled 1,248 last year, compared to 1,071 in 2014. Heroin was detected in 28 percent of cases, consistent with the previous year.
However, as a total, heroin-related deaths...